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A Speedster Virgin....be gentle!!!!

FM Former Member
Hello to all;

I have been lurking around this site for a few weeks and have decided to crawl out of the virtual darkness and expose my naive and vulnerable face to the 356 speedster community. Although I am no stranger to forums (I am very active the performanceboats. com and an avid "hot boat" hobbyist) I am certainly new to the reproduction car World. Wanted a Cobra for 20 years...Wife gently persuaded me(READ: threatened to "close off the Funhouse"!) into something more drivable and reasonable in price/insurance premiums.

Currently I am witnessing an amazing build schedule as Kirk at VS and his feverish hive of speedster-bees buzzes away at my new (OK, purists, get ready to vomit) ULTRA-WIDEBODY VS Speedster; 2275, Prostreet 3:88, swaybars, blah,blah, blah..good stuff..! I ordered it last Saturday and visited an almost complete car today!!! WOW.....I owned a fairly well known company called B2 Design Group which specialized in all steel 1932 custom roadster builds; we took at least 4 months to build a car....this is frickin' unbelievable!

Nina (my #1 girl for 24 years & wife of almost 20 years) and I decided to do a cross over of modern show car and vintage German tub....Jaguar Vapour Gray 3 stage paint and a really custom/trick interior is certainly doing the job! I visited the upholstery shop Tuesday this week and the project (all custom) was completed Thursday. Wanted to deviate from the "cookie-cutter" panels/seats (not that there is anything wrong with conforming)!

I can attest to the fact that the car is much closer to an assembly line production car than a true hand-built custom...BUT WHO CARES....the price was $7K less than the other local builder (we all know the other SoCal guy)....and I am super impatient..3-4 months on a build would absolutely kill me!!!

Enough rhetoric. I would love information on casual clubs that we can cruise together with on some moderate to long trips. I visualize cruising PCH with 30 other tubs....chills I tell ya', CHILLS!

I will post pics as I get them.

In closing, I would like to express my sincere admiration of this site and the (mostly) classy & cool folks who post here....the boating sites are chock-full of testosterone filled douchebags looking for an Internet pissing match.....refreshing new hobby I have fallen into.

Looking forward to fun times rolling my a$$-in-glass with the new "Speedy".

Best-

Billy "Derian" Blair
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FM Former Member
Hello to all;

I have been lurking around this site for a few weeks and have decided to crawl out of the virtual darkness and expose my naive and vulnerable face to the 356 speedster community. Although I am no stranger to forums (I am very active the performanceboats. com and an avid "hot boat" hobbyist) I am certainly new to the reproduction car World. Wanted a Cobra for 20 years...Wife gently persuaded me(READ: threatened to "close off the Funhouse"!) into something more drivable and reasonable in price/insurance premiums.

Currently I am witnessing an amazing build schedule as Kirk at VS and his feverish hive of speedster-bees buzzes away at my new (OK, purists, get ready to vomit) ULTRA-WIDEBODY VS Speedster; 2275, Prostreet 3:88, swaybars, blah,blah, blah..good stuff..! I ordered it last Saturday and visited an almost complete car today!!! WOW.....I owned a fairly well known company called B2 Design Group which specialized in all steel 1932 custom roadster builds; we took at least 4 months to build a car....this is frickin' unbelievable!

Nina (my #1 girl for 24 years & wife of almost 20 years) and I decided to do a cross over of modern show car and vintage German tub....Jaguar Vapour Gray 3 stage paint and a really custom/trick interior is certainly doing the job! I visited the upholstery shop Tuesday this week and the project (all custom) was completed Thursday. Wanted to deviate from the "cookie-cutter" panels/seats (not that there is anything wrong with conforming)!

I can attest to the fact that the car is much closer to an assembly line production car than a true hand-built custom...BUT WHO CARES....the price was $7K less than the other local builder (we all know the other SoCal guy)....and I am super impatient..3-4 months on a build would absolutely kill me!!!

Enough rhetoric. I would love information on casual clubs that we can cruise together with on some moderate to long trips. I visualize cruising PCH with 30 other tubs....chills I tell ya', CHILLS!

I will post pics as I get them.

In closing, I would like to express my sincere admiration of this site and the (mostly) classy & cool folks who post here....the boating sites are chock-full of testosterone filled douchebags looking for an Internet pissing match.....refreshing new hobby I have fallen into.

Looking forward to fun times rolling my a$$-in-glass with the new "Speedy".

Best-

Billy "Derian" Blair
Lane AndersonLane AndersonMt. Pleasant, SC Supporting Member
I second Mike's "Welcome to the madness".

"....the boating sites are chock-full of testosterone filled douchebags looking for an Internet pissing match....." That's also pretty common on the Cobra site at times as well, and is one of several reasons I have a Speedster instead. You'll find these folks to be a lot of fun, and very helpful should you ever need it. You made the right move.

If you ever get over to the east coast, try and join us for Carlisle or the Tail of the Dragon.
FM Former Member
In answer to gjfsimi; our speedster is due home in about a week. I am "new2cats" on www.performanceboats.com BUT don't hold that against me!!! If you are in Simi, I am sure you have seen a few of our 1932 Steelbody roadsters with laid back windshield cruisin' around..we had a shop on Easy Street.

Let's do coffee in the tubs!?
DaveOBrienDaveOBrien
Welcome Billy,

You picked the right builder. Kirk has really got an assembly line going but he does build quality custom cars. He is just real efficient and quick. I was so impressed with his operation when I visited (on a Saturday)in April.

I would ask for build pics but it sounds like it will be done soon. So you have to share some of your knowledge on the steel rods, I am sure everyone would be interested.

So welcome and I am really interested in your new ride. I sure we will cruise together soon.

Cheers
Dave

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Gordon NicholsGordon NicholsMassachusetts 1993 CMC Supporting Member
Billy:

Welcome aboard!

As you may have noticed, we tend to run the gamut on here, between as accurate to an original as we can get, to the wide-bodied and Outlawed in various widths.

What makes the Speedster sites cool, though, is the combination of builders and turn-key buyers who all band together to;

(a.) help each other out, as all of these cars are custom in some way, and not everyone is used to working with air cooled engines,

(b.) get together as often as practical to cruise together and,

(c.) just chew the fat together. In that respect, the sites are more like getting together with a bunch of friends at a comfortable bar than anything else, and our frequent get-togethers as in Morro Bay, Knott's, Loveland, Colorado and Carlisle, PA, are more like the best family reunion you've ever attended.

Hope you enjoy the car and the new hobby. We all have a lot of fun together.

Gordon
The "Speedstah Guy" from Beaufort, SC

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MarkosMarkos
Welcome Billy, I cruze PCH all the time,hope you join us soon. Your car sounds great! Idon't know much but it seems to me that Cobra people aren't as friendly as we are, Testosterone imbalance or something. Those Hot boat people are nuts too! I have a 2007 Advantage 27' partycat in Havasu. Gerd , when are you going to the lake? Later Markos
FM Former Member
Billy, I'm curious about the Super Widebody thing. I have this running internal debate about whether I'd like to combine the straight-fendered 356 front clip with the tubbed rear (like back of the car Will Smith used in the movie Bad Boys -- http://www.autocult.com.au/Image.aspx?id=16303 ).
My big hurdle is the usual widebody Speedster fender flares themselves. I could add a tubbed back end to my car pretty easily, not changing anything from the doors forward, but I'd kinda like to see how that would look.
Some mornings, I wake up thinking that'd be a good idea, and others I think to myself I should buy a 911 if that's what I really want.
I've already got years of grit and sweat into this thing, but if you could take a good, headlight-level shot of those giant flares ... well, I'd appreciate it. I'm waffling. I REALLY want to see how those things look. I'm pretty sure I'd have to get wider scoops to avoid mine looking tiny and stupid on a flared rear.

Alan, that's all cute and sweet ... but some of us actually hang license plates on our go-karts!

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FM Former Member
Cory; sounds like you have some fun Winter projects on your mind. If you are asking me to do some low point-of-view shots, not a problemo. As soon as I get the car from VS, I intend to do some all-angle pictures.


Just got back from eating the biggest slab of prime rib in the World (Lawry's-Beverly Hills)....I feel bad for vegans! Just a random thought!
Troy SloanTroy Sloan Supporting Member
Hey Cory.
I have lots of low, high and level point of view shots of my widebody on my website. Here's the link: http://speedster.hopto.org

Billy.
Your car looks great and I can't wait to see the "customizations" you have planned. Did you let Kirk talk you into vinyl or did you go with the leather? I ignored his advice on that subject and went with the leather. So far (9 months since delivery & 5000 miles) I am very happy with that decision. I'm not sure how you talked him into the big engine; he just wouldn't do it for me. Also,you may not be happy with how high the car sits when you pick it up, kind of an off road look. After some nagging from Jim to "lower that bad boy", I finally put 2.5 inch drop spindles on mine to get it down to the perfect height.

A word of caution. You won't be able to drive that car anywhere without having to answer lots of questions and people taking pictures, flashing a thumbs-up, etc.. It's always the focus of attention at car shows, even when its parked next to a Lambo(I just took 2nd place in a show last weekend). It's not a car for an introvert.

Also, you will have the opposite problem from what the Cobra guys have. They can't get away from the heat with that big engine sitting right in their lap. You won't be able to get enough heat! Not an issue in the summer, but it sure would be nice to have SOME heat in the winter.
Troy

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FM Former Member
Troy; I was gonna ask you...how did you get the perfect stance. Is the rear stock with the adjusters low as possible and front has drop spindles?? I want the lowest possible height without an impossible ride comfort!

I went with my ole favorite "Symphony Vintage" it is a faux leather that I have used many times in my 1932 hot rods...love it for wear, feel and cost! Looks just like worn leather (baseball mitt)!

The 2275 was the minimum I would go, wanted a 2332!!! Maybe the next one will have a turbo? My buddy is the owner/builder of the world record VW (Red Baron)..he could put some fire in this baby!

Any advice on ride height would be great....what to do, parts, price, etc. Will Kirk do the drop spindles?

Thanks
Troy SloanTroy Sloan Supporting Member
Cory.
I'm pretty sure that TeamEvil is a Photoshop expert on here and could probably easily create any combination of body parts you would need.

Billy.
I responded off line to you, but just for the record, here is what I wrote:
Your ride will not change much from the front being lower, but it will be slightly stiffer in the rear. The reason it doesn't really change is that you don't change the geometry of the steering and your front shocks and beam will have the same travel that they do now only the car is 2.5 inchs lower. The rear is a bit of a problem, because to get it as low as mine, you do sacrifice suspension travel. There are rubber bumpers that hit a steel stop on the suspension and that is when you will feel the jarring. I cut my bumpers in half and I only have 1 inch of travel back there, but its usually fine unless I hit a bump or pot hole. I also added gas shocks, which most regular body guys don't feel they need, but our cars are different from theirs; much wider tires. If you tell Kirk you want to do this, he will ask you "do you wear sunglasses?" Of course your answer is yes and then he tells you that "you will be wearing them in your lap," but that is a gross exaggeration. The other obvious problem you will have is negotiating inclined driveways and speed bumps, but that is easily managed and when you misjudge a driveway, you only scrape your nerf bars, sounds bad, but no real damage.
Troy
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